When Naoki Hamaguchi found out he’d landed his dream job directing remakes of his favourite game, Final Fantasy VII, he almost didn’t accept. “I realised this was going to be 10 years of my life as a games developer and I was a little torn,” he tells BBC Newsbeat. The project was a massive undertaking – a trilogy of games remaking the beloved 1997 classic with updated visuals, full voice acting and a wealth of side content.
Despite his initial concerns, Hamaguchi is happy he took on the project. “This was my way of giving back to the series.”
In a world where many developers face the daunting challenge of keeping up with trends, evolving technologies, and expanding marketplaces, does Mr. Hamaguchi think the game industry looks forward?
“Something along the lines of virtual reality, or perhaps more like augmented reality, where you can create a digital environment which merges with the real world and people can interact with things in that world.” He also predicts headset will become cheap and lightweight, making it easier to create an immersive experience like video games.
Final Fantasy VII has a rich 20-year history, a remarkable 20-year arc is still unfolding in. For the next chapter it must face the uncertainty challenges we already know from Square Enix.
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